Goal #1 – Sleep at least 7 hours a night : I’ve been doing fairly well with this one over the last couple of months! We have been alternating sleeping in the guest room with Charlotte for a few weeks, so on my nights with her, I get a lot of sleep since I go to bed earlier. I’m still working on going earlier on my “off nights,” but I feel a lot better with more sleep. Shocker, right? Of course, we’re going to start working on putting her in a toddler bed soon, so that will change everything…

Goal #2 – Get at least 5,000 steps per day : I haven’t been great with this one. I’m getting between 3-4,000 steps on most days, so I’m close. Hopefully our weather will stay warmer…or at least less rainy…and I can resume taking lunchtime walks!

Goal #3 – Work on stress management techniques : I’m getting better about this one. I’m trying not to let things bother me so much, and I’m definitely feeling more balanced since sleeping more! I still haven’t tried meditating, but it’s on my eventually list!

Goal #4 – Drink 64+ ounces of water daily : This one is where I’m kicking butt! I have an app on my phone called Plant Nanny, and it has really helped with my water intake! I have to keep my plant alive by drinking enough water daily, and even though I’ve killed a few plants (RIP, plants 1, 2, and 3…), my current one is flourishing! Plus, a couple of my co-workers have downloaded the app, so we can share updates about our plants. It’s the little things in life, right?

Goal #5 – Decrease screen time : I’ve gotten a lot worse about using my phone or tablet more on the weekends and my off nights, so this one is a fail. I think I’m going to have to set some guidelines for myself. I should’ve done that from the beginning!

This month’s topic is to share our favorite natural wellness tips, and honestly, I’m coming up blank on that! I tend to be a “whatever works fast and I can find at the grocery store” kind of girl when it comes to wellness, so I can’t wait to visit the others in the linkup and see what their natural tips are!

Want to join in on a future Wellness Wednesday post? Here’s the schedule for the rest of the year! If you’ve got any natural wellness tips to share, click on the blue link below this graphic and join in. Be sure to visit the other blogs participating too!

Tonight, I’m checking in with my progress on the wellness goals I set last month. Tomorrow night, I’ll be back to talk about my favorite cardio exercises. Wellness Wednesday has turned into a three day event!

As a reminder, my goals from January were to :

Sleep at least 7 hours per night

Get at least 5,000 steps per day

Work on stress management techniques

Drink 64+ ounces of water daily

Decrease screen time

Sleep – My Fitbit dashboard tells me that I succeeded in getting at least 7 hours of sleep 12 times during the time between posts! Not a bad start!

Steps – Fitbit tells me that I got over 5,000 steps once during the time between posts. Wow. Step it up (pun totally intended), Amber!

Stress –Uh…I totally haven’t worked on this one at all. Fail.

Sip – (I wanted to stay with the “starts with an -s” theme I’ve got going here) I haven’t been tracking this like I should’ve been, but I don’t think I’ve accomplished this one at all either.

Screen – I haven’t made a plan or set a concrete goal for this one yet, so I have no way to measure it.

Well, it looks like my first month check-in has showed me that I have a lot of work to do! I guess on that note, I should go drink some water, take a few steps, and go to sleep!

If you want to participate, here are our prompts for the rest of the year! We would love to have you join us!

One of the most common resolutions that people make is to lose weight and get healthy. Many people (myself included) turn to whatever is the latest fad to help themselves shed pounds. For me, I had determined that I was going to start doing the Keto Diet. I had joined a few groups on Facebook several months ago and after seeing the members’ progress, I was ready to dive in.

On Wednesday night, I decided to take a bath and read a magazine (tmi, right? Ha!). For some reason, I have several magazine subscriptions even though I never paid for them. I don’t know what kind of magic skills I have, but I wish it would extend to getting groceries and diapers without paying for them…

The magazine I picked up was the January 2018 issue of Women’s Health, so it was full of workouts and healthy recipes. One article talked about a woman’s experience with stopping the Paleo Diet and focusing on eating real food. For some reason, that article hit me like lightning. I am so guilty of over-complicating things and giving myself too many “rules” about certain things. The concept of just focusing on eating real food most of the time seems so simple but effective.

I’m not a stranger to this idea. When I was more active at the gym I used to go to (RIP muscles), I participated in a few weight loss challenges that focused on this concept. Somehow this had gotten lost to me as I continued to gain weight and started to get desperate to find the quickest, easiest fix that I could.

I’m not condemning anyone for any dietary choices they choose to make. If you have found that Keto, Paleo, Vegan, Raw Foods, or whatever approach works best for you, then congratulations and enjoy yourself! However, for me, it’s time to get back on board with the idea of keeping it simple and straightforward. It’s time for me to just eat real food.

Part of me is excited that there was a loss, and the other part of me wonders if I should even share losses like that. Let’s be honest, I haven’t been working too hard at this, so the fact that there was any loss was just pure, dumb luck. On the other hand, it is nice to post a loss on here, even if it is pretty minuscule.

The good:

A tiny loss despite literally no effort at all.

The not-so-good:

See above about literally no effort at all.

I’m struggling so hard to get myself together. I do want to lose weight. I’m unhappy with how I look and I’m tired of being overweight. But, I’m just not putting in the work. Maybe it is being busy with our upcoming move. Maybe it’s just a touch of laziness. I’m not sure.

Goals for next week:

Start small – increase water intake to 64 ounces a day and decrease coffee intake to one cup per day.

Sleep! I’ve been staying up too late during the last couple of weeks. As a result, I’m dragging quite often, and that usually leads to an extra sugary coffee drink or something equally as bad for me. STOP STAYING UP SO LATE, AMBER.

Is anyone else working on losing weight or improving their health? Share your story!